Living the tree change job dream
By Ann-Maree Moodie | smh.com.au | 29 March
There is a host of good reasons to leave the city and forge a new life in the country. Rising interest rates, the high cost of living, pollution and traffic are all problems that ease once you take a step away from the major centres. And, if you are a manager, a move to a regional area could also be good for your career.
Steve Bowler, a senior manager in the middle market advisory practice of KPMG in Albury-Wodonga, says one of the benefits of having a career in a regional centre is the diversity of work. The assignments on his desk include advice on matters ranging from a divorce to the tax deductibility status of a charity protecting an endangered frog.
"In capital cities, you are more likely to be slotted into a speciality," says Bowler, who has lived in the city as well. "In the accounting profession, you'd be put into a tax or an audit box, for example. By comparison, [in regional areas] while you might also be doing tax and audit, you are also expected to take on a range of special projects. The advantage to your career is that you acquire a broader and deeper range of skills."
The biggest issue to consider when making a move to a regional centre is the limited opportunities for work with a large company. Albury-Wodonga has employers such as KPMG and Mars but not all towns have big corporate names. Even in smaller capital cities such as Perth, Darwin and Adelaide, those interested in promotions often ask recruiters, "When do I need to go east?" - meaning a move to Melbourne, Sydney, or even Brisbane, to work with a large corporate name.
"That's why I'm always very selective about the people we hire here," Bowler says. "It is common for people who want to go back to the city eventually to want to have a corporate name like KPMG on their curriculum vitae. They want to show progression in their career with their next employer, even if they've only stayed here for six months.
"The key question that I ask job candidates is, 'What do you want to achieve by moving here?' I want to understand their motivation for moving, what they expect from a role and how they can assist the organisation."
Many return to the city after a stint in a regional town. "There are often a lot of reasons but the most common ones are that they don't like the work and they can't cope with the isolation," Bowler says.
Brendan Schutt, the chief financial officer of Brown Brothers, a winery in Milawa in northern Victoria, says family disquiet is also an issue.
"These days, both the husband and wife tend to be professionals, and the challenge is for both of them to find work," says Schutt, who has worked in financial roles in Melbourne and country Victoria.
"If the decision to relocate is because of the career of one spouse and the other is happy not to work, or to take a different role, another reason for the move to be disaster [may be] the lack of a social network, especially of an extended family."
Websites and blogs devoted to the benefits and disadvantages of make a "tree change" or a "sea change" concentrate on issues such as social isolation and loneliness. However, the loss of professional networks is equally problematic.
Therefore it's imperative for anyone with the slightest expectation of returning to the city to maintain professional networks. These include contact with your former employer as well as professional colleagues and university alumni. Factoring the expense of attending networking functions and annual dinners may be wise in considering the costs associated with the move.
Toby Marshall, a director of Abacus Recruitment Solutions, says moving from country to city employment is bound to meet some prejudice.
"If you're coming back from Byron, there will be many people - especially in the recruitment profession - who will think you've dropped out and become a hippie," Marshall says.
"So, if you have any inkling that you'll come back, it's important to maintain your credentials, skills and qualifications, and to keep up with issues to do with your profession or industry by reading the same journals, websites and blogs that you would read if you were employed in the city."
Applying for positions requires some forethought. "Talk about transferable skills, that you've gotten the 'sea change' or 'tree change' out of your system and that you're committed to returning to the city with renewed energy," Marshall says.
Ideally, find a mentor who is prepared to champion you. Marshall cites the example of a client who left a senior sales position in Melbourne to run a restaurant on a Queensland island. On returning to Sydney, he found firms weren't prepared to meet him because of the perception that he'd "dropped out" and his skills were no longer current.
Marshall knew otherwise and pleaded with a large company to see him. The client eventually got the job and has gone on to more senior sales roles.
Boom towns all over
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, regional migration is booming. Australians are moving from capital cities to regional centres in greater numbers than seen in five years. The towns of Maitland, Queanbeyan and Wagga Wagga all recorded large growth over the five years. The populations of coastal towns, such as Geelong in Victoria, the Gold Coast, Cairns and Caloundra in Queensland and, in NSW, Wollongong and Newcastle, are also increasing.
"We are still enamoured with the beach and the sea change shift continues to grow strongly as evidenced by the Gold Coast's relentless population boom," social demographer Bernard Salt says.
First published by Smh.com.au on March 29 2008
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